Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/44

 exception of the cross, and this was only to be borne on the pennon, the surcoat, and the shield.

This allusion to the armour of the knights leads naturally to the question of what did their equipment consist? Armour may be divided into two classes—offensive and defensive: the former including all weapons, and the latter the protecting covering of both man and horse. At the time of the first Crusade defensive armour consisted simply of a leathern tunic, on which were fastened rows of iron rings. The word cuirass, now used to denote a steel breastplate, took its origin from this leathern tunic. Gradually these rings gave way to small iron plates lapping over one another like the scales of a fish, whence came the name scale mail. The form of armour previously described was called simply mail, from macula, a net, the meshes of which it was supposed to resemble. The leathern tunic, on which these varieties of mail were borne, eventually took the name of hauberk. The lower limbs were protected by chausses equivalent to the modern breeches. When the tunic and chausses were in one piece, the combination was called a haubergeon. The crown and back of the head were protected by a hood of mail, sometimes detached and sometimes forming part of the hauberk. In the latter case the wearer was enabled to throw it back upon his shoulders when he wished to relieve his head from its weight. This hood not only protected the back of the head, but coming round to the front covered also the mouth and chin. The hands were protected by a prolongation of the sleeves of the frock, which passed over the fingers; the feet were in the same way protected by a continuation of the chausses.

Various improvements in this system of mail armour gradually developed themselves, mostly borrowed from the Saracens. Instead of the rings of mail being sewn on the dress they were interlaced with one another, each ring having four others inserted into it, the garment being thus formed of the rings only without any leathern foundation. This was further improved by the introduction of double rings, rendering it impervious either to the cut of a sword or the thrust of a lance. It was also extremely portable; a knight was no longer obliged to encumber himself with his armour when travelling; being compact and flexible, it could be rolled up